Finance Chiefs told to embraceglobal economy
Hon. GeorgeMcCarthy
Financial Secretary of the Cayman Islands,the Hon. George McCarthy and other Commonwealth Ministers of Finance,who wrapped up a three-day meeting in London on Thursday, havebeen urged have been urged to embrace a 'new deal for the globaleconomy'.
The Commonwealth Finance Ministers Meeting,held each year just before the meetings of the International MonetaryFund (IMF) and World Bank, is this year hosted by the Right Hon.Gordon Brown, the UK Chancellor of the Exchequer.
"Our aim as a Commonwealth must beto make real our commitment to the elimination of poverty, thepromotion of development, the achievement of the Millennium DevelopmentGoals and the progressive removal of the wide disparities in livingstandards among our members by embracing what I call a new dealfor the global economy," Brown said at the meeting's openingceremony.
Mr. Brown added that there were four buildingblocks of this new deal, namely, action on economic stability,investment, trade and aid.
Head of the Commonwealth, Her Majesty QueenElizabeth II, also addressed the opening ceremony.
The Queen said she was particularly pleasedthat her Jubilee year has coincided with a new spirit of partnershipbetween the developed and developing world.
"The United Nations conferences inMonterrey and Johannesburg have created a new impetus for change.And in 2002 we have seen new commitments to increase assistancefrom the developed to the developing world, after many years ofdecline," said Queen Elizabeth.
She said: "the global response has,I believe, owed much to the commitment to co-operation that hasbeen clearly demonstrated in this free partnership of nationswe call the Commonwealth. And, where that response is incomplete,the Commonwealth is well placed to make further progress."
In his address, Commonwealth Secretary-GeneralHis Excellency Don McKinnon urged
Commonwealth finance ministers to take robust action to help implementthe agreements reached at the UN Summit on Financing for Developmentin Monterrey, Mexico, last March.
He said he was delighted that Ministersof Finance are discussing a Commonwealth Action Plan to 'DeliverMonterrey'.
"Now is the time for action,"said Mr. McKinnon, who also outlined four central objectives thatwould need to be at the heart of a successful Action Plan: increasingaid and making it more effective; renewed commitment by developedcountries to reduce trade barriers on competitive products fromthe developing world; innovations to broaden country coverageof private flows to emerging markets; and a stronger voice fordeveloping countries and small states in global financial institutions.
Mr. McKinnon also noted that Commonwealthfinance ministers had provided the impetus for reducing the debtburden of heavily indebted poor countries (HIPCs) in the 1980s.He emphasised that these countries need further action to ensurethey end up with a sustainable level of debt.
Topics for discussion include the currentworld economic situation and prospects, issues relating to theIMF, World Bank and the HIPC initiative, promoting investment,small states issues, gender-responsive budgets, and deliveringthe Monterrey Consensus.
The meeting, which concluded on Thursday,26 September, is attended by St. Kitts and Nevis Prime Ministerand Minister of Finance, Dr. the Hon. Denzil L. Douglas and FinancialSecretary, Mr. Wendell Lawrence.